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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Magical Canyonlands National Park

I became interested in Canyonlands National Park while researching the setting for a dramatic scene
in my soon to be released book, BEGUILING DELILAH (Romancing the Guardians, Book 6). Since the park is such a
fascinating place, I want to share a little of what I've learned with you today.

Canyonlands National Park; photo in public domain

Located
in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab, Canyonlands National Park is a
colorful wilderness of canyons, mesas, buttes, arches and spires carved by the
Colorado and Green rivers and their tributaries. The largest park in Utah, it
was officially designated a national park by legislation and signed into law by
President Lyndon Johnson on September 12, 1964.

The
park is composed of four districts: Island in the Sky to the north, the Needles
to the east, the Maze to the west, and the River district (the Green and
Colorado.) These areas share a desert atmosphere but each is very different from
the others. Author Edward Abbey described the Canyonlands as “the most
weird, wonderful, magical place on earth—there is nothing else like it
anywhere.”

Although many people had never heard of this remote land when
the park was established in 1964, prehistoric Native Americans hunted and lived
in the area as early as 11,500 B.C. By 1000 B.C. their descendants hunted,
gathered and grew corn, and began to establish permanent settlements. These
people are known as ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi.)

Ruins of later Puebloan villages have been found in the
Needles district, and rock art carved by ancient artists can be seen in all areas of the park. Newspaper Rock Recreation Site,
on the road into the Needles district, is a popular example of such petroglyphs.

While the Puebloans and another
group called the Fremont People cultivated crops in the canyon bottoms for many
years, they abandoned Canyonlands in the 13th century A.D.A 20-year drought is believed to be the cause.

Fur trappers and explorers entered
the region in the1800s. John Wesley Powell, a well-known
geologist and explorer of the west, traveled the area by river in 1869 and in
1871, resulting in the first detailed geologic and topographic information on
the canyons.

Around this time, Spanish vaqueros
were herding cattle through the area and some small settlements were
established to the west of the park. By 1885, cattle ranching was becoming a
big business in southeast Utah, and cattle were beginning to graze in
Canyonlands. Some of the ranchers’ descendants still raise cattle in the area.

In the 1950s and 60s, before
Canyonlands was declared a national park, prospectors explored there for
uranium deposits. Deep shafts were dug and some ore was found, but not enough
to be worth the effort of extracting it.

Which
brings me to Shafer Canyon.

Built by uranium miners to
transport ore extracted from the Triassic Chinle Formation,Shafer Canyon Trail is an 18-mile-long dangerous dirt track
located in Canyonlands. The mining road
followed the path of a large natural rockfall. A
series of steep switchbacks with sharp turns, negotiating the trail requires extreme
caution for auto drivers and mountain bikers. It's a favorite with
Hollywood movie producers.

A well-known point on the trail is Thelma and Louise Point,
where the famous scene in "Thelma & Louise" when the two women drove off the edge, into the canyon, was filmed. The view from the
overlook, 2,000 feet above the Colorado River, is one of the most photographed
scenic vistas in the world. It’s a breathtaking panorama of Canyonlands'
sculpted pinnacles and buttes. Numerous commercials and music videos have been
filmed there.

Now here's a snippet from a scene set on Shafer Trail in BEGUILING DELILAH. No, it's not a western historical, but this setting is a spectacular example of our amazing western lands. The Navajo hero is trying to protect the French Guardian he went to Paris to find. They are being followed by her ruthless enemies.

They were at
the top of a wide canyon. The view was spectacular, but gazing hundreds of feet
down into the huge hole in the mountainous terrain stole her breath.

“This is
Shafer Canyon,” Leon said. “Do you see the trail down?”

“Oui.” The dirt road winding into the
depths along steep switchbacks and around sharp curves made her head spin. “Surely
you cannot mean to drive down that,” she said in a strained voice.

“Yes, I do. I
have driven this trail before, and remember we have four-wheel drive. We will
be fine, but I know it is frightening for you. When you get too scared, close
your eyes, okay?”

She didn’t try
to answer as he started slowly down the narrow dirt path. There weren’t even
any guardrails. Clutching the edges of her seat, she stared at the cliff face
near them, refusing to look at the heart-stopping drop on the opposite side of
the car.

Leon swore in
Navajo, drawing her terrified gaze. “The fools are following us. I hoped they
would get cold feet and turn back.”

“Wh-what will
you do now?” She barely got the words out.

“Speed up, I
guess.”

“What?! No!”
She couldn’t believe her ears.

“I must.” Jaw
set, he gave the car more gas and they shot forward down the steep grade, only
slowing slightly as they rounded a hairpin curve.

“Sweet Danu!
Protect us!” Delilah gulped, feeling the car fishtail before straightening out.
Bracing one hand against the dashboard, she squeezed her eyes shut, expecting them
to go flying over the edge at any second, to die on the rocks far below.

“Slow down!”
she begged, heart in her throat.

“It’s okay. I
know what I’m doing,” Leon insisted, somehow making it down another incline and
around a second death-defying curve.

She cracked
her eyes open as they headed down yet another switchback. Daring a glance back,
she saw the SUV edge around the last hairpin turn. “Their driver is going much
slower than you,” she said.

Leon gave a
dry laugh. “Good. He’s got more sense than I thought.”

Perplexed, she
braced again as he calmly negotiated a third dangerous curve just as fast as
the first two. When they straightened out on the next decline, she asked, “You expected
him to keep up with us?”

He shrugged.
“I expected him to try . . . and fail.”

She stared at
him aghast. “You thought they would go over the edge and be killed!”

Lyn Horner is
a multi-published, award-winning author of western historical romance and
romantic suspense novels, all spiced with paranormal elements. She is a former
fashion illustrator and art instructor who resides in Fort Worth, Texas –
“Where the West Begins” - with her husband
and a gaggle of very spoiled cats. As well as crafting passionate love
stories, Lyn enjoys reading, gardening, visiting with family and friends, and
cuddling her furry, four-legged children.

Caroline, I'm so happy you like the Guardians series. I have never yet visited any Puebloan sites, but I plan to visit Canyon de Chelly. I've written about it in several of the books in this series, and book 8 will be set there for the most part. It's time to go see the canyon for myself!

Wow, the snippet is great. In all our trips in and around the national parks, we never got to this area. Oh, how I wish we had. It's fascinating and frightening, too. The power of water is amazing, isn't it? You novel is no doubt good. Your writing is fast and strong and moves the reader along. Well, done, and congratulations on this release. The cover is wonderful, too.

I almost fainted just looking at a picture of that road. Lordy! I would be paralyzed by fear, my hands clenched and frozen to the wheel.All these places look so untamed, completely wild and that makes me happy just to know these wild places are still there.I thoroughly enjoyed your article and those glorious pictures, Lyn.